


Rogers Do It By the Book

by paburke



Series: RogersVerse [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Castle, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-28
Updated: 2014-06-28
Packaged: 2018-02-06 14:08:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1860840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paburke/pseuds/paburke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SHIELD wants to publish Captain America’s biography but Steve is a step ahead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rogers Do It By the Book

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers: Just after the Captain America movie, after Iron Man II, before the Avengers movie and general knowledge of Castle.  
> Rating: teen  
> Disclaimer: not mine

~ca~im~castle~

Steve attended the meetings about re-introducing Captain America to the world because they pertained to him, not because he had any true opinion on the matter. Steve didn’t understand why SHIELD was so concerned about public opinion, national or international. So while his body had been present, his mind had been elsewhere until he heard the word ‘biography.’

“If we have it written and control the context, it’ll be easier to tell anyone who interviews Captain America to stick to the book for questions,” explained Janet Paisley, the woman responsible for his ‘ratings.’

“Richard Castle is writing my biography,” Steve announced.

Silence reigned. All of the other meeting attendees stared at Steve.

Fury was the one who spoke. “I know that you are a fan of Castle’s works but Castle writes strictly fiction. We –and you- want someone more academically respected to write your biography.”

“It’s already written,” Steve informed him. “Mostly,” his honesty forced him to add.

“Stark,” Natasha muttered as she realized that Steve had direct communication with Castle and that could have only happened with Stark’s assistance. The dinners at the Stark residence were Steve’s only unsupervised time. “Stark introduced the two of you. Why?”

Steve shrugged. “I had read his work and was interested in the author’s experiences, so Tony arranged for a meeting.” He told the truth and made the omission as glibly as possible.

Coulson guessed, “Castle asked to write your biography?”

Steve nodded. “Tony thought that it’d be a good a idea.” And Martha and Alexis listened to every ‘interview,’ as eager to learn about him as he was to learn about them.

“Please tell me that you didn’t sign anything,” Paisley demanded, her face white.

Steve shook his head. Why would he have signed anything concerning an agreement between family members?

“Good,” Paisley breathed. “We can slap a gag order on him and demand all of his work. We’ll give it to an author we can influence.”

“No.” Steve would not compromise on this. “We are not stealing Richard’s work. He will publish my only authorized biography.”

“But…”

“No.”

“Before this discussion continues, all of us should read the book,” Fury ordered. “Natasha, acquire it.”

Natasha nodded.

“Meeting adjourned,” said the general.

Steve hurried to Natasha’s side. He knew full well the extent of her capabilities. He didn’t want his family hurt. He didn’t want SHIELD anywhere near his family. “How are you going to get the book?” he asked.

“I’ll copy it off his computer when no one is home,” she told him. “He can’t have that good security. No one will even know that I was there.”

“I’ve got the latest manuscript in my berth,” Steve admitted.

Natasha examined him and Steve hoped that his fear wasn’t written all over his face. “Why are you so protective of Castle?” she asked.

Steve spoke another truth mixed with a huge omission. “I like him.”

Natasha turned rueful. “The important question is, does he like you?”

Steve smiled. “I think that Richard Castle likes nearly everyone. He sees their point of view. He even gets along with Tony. Now.”

“Rough start,” Natasha queried.

“Tony had Richard abducted for our first meeting,” Steve confessed. “Just because he thought that I’d like to meet Richard.”

Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose. “I wish I was surprised,” she muttered.

“But Tony has boundary issues,” Steve quoted her past words.

“Castle doesn’t hold you accountable,” checked Natasha.

Steve shook his head. “Not at all. As punishment for the abduction, Tony had to answer any technical question Richard had for his books. Happy, JARVIS and Pepper won’t let him ignore the calls. Even if Tony hangs up on him, Richard is persistent and keeps calling until he gets his answer.”

“Stark despises stupid questions,” Natasha said. A small smile danced on her lips. “With his intelligence, most questions are stupid. And Castle gets expert input from a famous person for free. He’ll be able to cash in on that.”

By now, they had walked the halls to Steve’s berth. Natasha waited by the open door as Steve retrieved the most recent USB drive from Richard. He appreciated Richard’s forethought to keep the personal items, like Martha’s photos, separate from the biography. Steve handed the drive to her. “I’m still not sure how I feel about people reading all about me, but I think that Richard does a good job.”

Natasha made the USB drive disappear on her person. “We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, but I like anyone that can manipulate Stark by manipulating his people.”

~ca~im~castle~

Natasha cornered Tony Stark on his next visit to SHIELD headquarters. “What’s your opinion of Richard Castle?”

Tony had been warned by Steve but that didn’t change his answer. “The man’s a pain in the ass.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“He calls at inconvenient times, won’t take ‘no’ for an answer and he’s an underachiever.”

“Underachiever?” Natasha echoes. “He’s a best selling author and he’s writing Steve’s biography.”

“Castle understands advanced thermodynamics and conductivity and he’s writing fiction.”

Natasha blinked. “Castle understands your work?”

“Yes, but excluding the one foray into my lab for research for more fiction, he won’t do any experiments. Do you realize how much I’d be able to accomplish with a capable assistant writing my reports and organizing my research? Castle’s above average at research. Pepper does great, but she’s running the actual company. Hell, we’d never have another problem with my shareholders again if Castle was writing the annual reviews.”

“You offered him a job,” Natasha said.

“At double what he was getting from royalties. He turned me down flat.”

“What happened when you upped the price?” Because, of course, Tony Stark would throw money at any problem.

Tony’s face shut down as if someone flipped a switch. “No change.”

Natasha was impressed. Richard Castle somehow had figured out how to make Tony Stark back down. Tony only had a few sore spots and one of them was his father. Natasha wondered if Castle had threatened to write Howard Stark’s biography. With his access to Steve, Castle would get further than any other.

That was playing dirty but it was the only threat Natasha could figure an author could level against Tony Stark to make him back down.

She respected Richard Castle just a bit more. She was going to have to meet this guy. If, for no other reason, than the fact that SHIELD could try to hire him too.

~ca~im~castle~


End file.
